Dissident Iranian Journalist Mohammad Nourizad — from his Facebook Page — January 7 2014 — I was in *Shush-e Daniel today. A friend…called me from Tehran and asked if I had seen the article published on the ‘Solh News’ website. I replied, “I am on a trip, and I have no access to the internet. What does it say?” He said, “I am not feeling very well, Mr. Nourizad. “Where is [our society] heading to?” I asked, “What happened?” With a lump in his throat he said, “I am ashamed to quote what it says…Solh News claims you have raped your own daughter, your wife has filed charges against you, and now you are being held in a psychiatric facility. It also published a photo of you and your daughter.”

I am now in Ahwaz. It’s 1:00 a.m. A friend has sent me the link to the article. Solh News is [controlled and operated by] the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence’s news agency. I read the article. More than being sad, I reflect on the moral descent into the abyss of *decadence in a society that claims to be Muslim.

I tell myself, “You have to stand steadfastly, for these gestures of frustration and acts of aggression show that you have been able to hit the monster, that you hit the nail on the head; this is only the beginning of the road in which you have set foot on.” I recommend that you read the article published [by Solh News] so you may see how deep decadence can penetrate in this pillaged and sacked land.

Editor’s Note: For the past year journalist Mohammad Nourizad has been travelling and hitchhiking his way across Iran visiting victims of rights abuses– including Iranians belonging to ethnic and religious minority groups, burn victims, the poverty-stricken, and the families of 2009 post-election protesters who were murdered by Iranian authorities. Nourizad’s peaceful initiative has led news sites controlled by Iran’s security apparatuses to publish slander about him.

Translator’s Note: * Daniel’s Susa is a site in the city of Shush in Southern Iran where Daniel the Prophet is said to be buried). * Decadence: “The act or process of falling into an inferior condition or state”